Express & Star

West Brom's Grady Diangana no surprise for Darnell Furlong

Grady Diangana's impressive form for Albion has come as no surprise to team-mate Darnell Furlong.

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Grady Diangana of West Bromwich Albion applauds the West Bromwich Albion Fans at the end of the match.

The winger, who is currently away with England’s under-21s, has registered four goals and five assists for the Baggies since joining on loan from West Ham.

Furlong first became aware of Diangana’s talent while he was at QPR with the defender taking on the Hammers in a pre-season friendly.

And he admits Diangana was a player who immediately caught his eye.

“Not really,” Furlong said when asked if Diangana’s form had surprised him this season.

“There was a game at QPR in pre-season where we played West Ham, he played second half I played first half. I remember watching him in that second half thinking, ‘wow this kid’s sharp and really effective’.

“That was all I really knew about him. But since he’s come in he’s been on fire, he’s a real problem for full-backs.

“He’s really hard to deal with even in training.

“I get to watch him every day and analyse him but for someone coming up against him on a single day it must be tough.”

Furlong believes Diangana deserves credit for the way he has made himself a first-team regular at The Hawthorns.

“He deserves credit for solidifying his place,” the defender continued.

“He came in and was on the bench, coming off. There was a game I wasn’t involved in where he came off the bench against Luton to score to get us a good result.

“Since then he’s taken off and will continue to do so.”

Able to play on both the right and left wing, Diangana’s ability to go both ways has meant opposing full-backs have found it hard to stop him this season.

But Furlong believes it’s his athleticism that makes him so effective.

“He can go down the outside or come inside – that’s definitely hard to deal with,” Furlong added.

“But overall, it’s his genetics. He’s a very good athlete, it’s hard to keep up with someone like that. And he’s a really nice kid who just wants to learn and work hard, he a credit to himself.”